Sparro (2011)

Sparro is an adaptation of the game Captain's Mistress (think Connect Four) for the Shibumi game platform. It differs from the original in that the goal is to be the first to get three in a row rather than four and the board wraps around the Shibumi pyramid. It is about as simple as it gets but has more depth than tic tac toe. Sparro is quick to play, has a surprise or two now and then, and is fun.

Sparro is played on the four faces of the three lower levels of the Shibumi pyramid. (There is no crow's nest.) To set up the board, create a 2x2 pyramid using five white marbles in the center of the 4x4 base. This pyramid will support the placing of marbles on the outer faces.

One player uses twelve red mistress marbles and the other uses twelve black pirate marbles.

Red starts and places a marble on any empty space. Players then take turns playing a marble on any empty space or 2x2 platform.

The first to get three in a row wins the sparring match. See the figure below for all the legal 3-in-a-rows on one face of the pyramid. If no one wins outright, Black wins. This compensates for Red having the initiative at the beginning of the game.

Extended Play Variant
The standard rules for Sparro apply but with the following three changes:

1) Play continues until all 24 marbles have been played. The player with the most three-in-a-rows on the board at the end of the game wins. Note, when counting, count all unique three-in-a-rows. For example, four-in-a-row counts as two three-in-a-rows. Rows can intersect.

2) To resolve ties the following mechanism is used. A tie-breaker token, for example a gold doubloon or a white marble, is given to Black at the start of the game. From then on, the token belongs to whichever player last created a 3-in-row on the game board. If there is a tie between players for number of three-in-a-rows, the possessor of the token wins.

3) On Black first turn, if Red played to a corner space, Black must play to one of the eight edge center spaces, or, if Red played to an edge center space, Black must play to one of the four corner spaces. Thereafter, there are no further restrictions on either player. (This rule is to prevent symmetric play and an automatic win for Black.)

Included in the Shibumi Rule Book

Soft cover:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/cameron-browne-and-nestor-romeral-andres/shibumi-rule-book/paperback/product-18940123.html

Downloadable PDF:

http://www.nestorgames.com/rulebooks/SHIBUMI_EN.pdf